Dehradun: Doon based student activist group, Making a Difference by Being the Difference (MAD) was joined by DGP Mr. Ashok Kumar as the student group celebrated the inauguration of the three day MADATHON Festival that is MAD’s annual feature event held on its foundation day to generate awareness to rejuvenate drying streams of Doon Valley. Chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami also recorded a special message for team MAD which was shared with all participants on the occasion, which also coincided with world environment day.
Beating all previous records around 5000 runners turned up for this event. What made this 8 km circular route beginning from Pavillion Ground a challenging cross country race was the unprecedented use of steel glasses only in all the water filling stations along the MADATHON route. As MAD declared a agenda to celebrate the MADATHON Festival as a zero waste event, the organization took special care to ensure that not even a single plastic flex is printed for the event. All promotional material was prepared on canvas cloth and chart papers and some others using scrap and waste material.
This approach was coupled by a conscious decision to completely shun plastic which was a calculated risk taken by the organizers. Around five stop points were kept in the route and adequate arrangements of steel glasses had been made to completely shun the use of plastic bottles and to drive home the message of environmental conservation by actual example.
When the race concluded, MAD members distributed refreshments that had been completely prepared by members themselves, who had worked overnight and had prepared tasty sandwiches. This was in accordance with MAD’s declared ideal of pocket money driven activism. MAD members also ensured that after the event the Pavillion Ground was left in spic and span condition. Hundreds of individuals specially registered with MAD to join their weekly Sunday to Sunday activities.
At the end of the race, the winner of this eco friendly endeavor in the male category was Mr.Ankush. Pankaj Khatri came second and Dinesh Chandra came third. The winner in the female category was Ms. Gauri Kothiyal, Ms. Arpita Saini stood second and Radha stood third. Though MAD is largely pocket money funded, the cash prize of the event is being powered by Tonsbridge School, Luxuria farms by Solitaire and Doon Mirror. Moreover, Suvidha Supermarket, Himalaya Drug Company, Doon Defence Academy, Doon International School, Time Institute, Youth for You, Amrita Vidyapeeth, Sankhyayog Foundation, Daily Dozz also offered some support to MADATHON 2022.
Mr. Ashish Garg, Mr. Anu Pant, Mr. B P Nautiyal, Brig. KG Behl, and several members from Sanyukt Nagrik Sangathan also motivated the participants with their kind words. MAD members hope that after a successful start more and more Doonites would turn up for the other events of MADATHON 2022 which include a Cultural Evening at Colonel Brown Cambridge School, an Art Competition at Doon International School among several others. Those present in the Cross Country Race held on Sunday included Founder Abhijay Negi, Swati Singh, Karan Kapoor, Satvik Nijhon, Shardul Aswal, Shilpi, Asmita Pant among others.
